Method and system for enhancing the carbon content of carbon-containing materials
OwnerTsong-Jen Yanginventor
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Abstract
A method of enhancing the carbon content of a carbon-containing material, which includes loading a chamber with a carbon-containing material, evacuating air from the chamber, introducing an inert gas into the chamber, and heating sequentially the chamber at three or more different temperature phases each for a duration of time such that the weight percentage of the carbon in the treated carbon-containing material is increased by 20% or higher, as compared to the untreated carbon-containing material. Further disclosed is a system for performing this method.
Claims25
A method of enhancing the carbon content of a carbon-containing material, the method comprising:
- loading a chamber with a pre-determined amount of a carbon-containing material,
- evacuating air from the chamber to a pressure of 0.1 atm or lower,
- introducing an inert gas into the chamber to a pressure of 1-5 atm,
- heating the chamber to remove from the carbon-containing material moisture and volatile components to enhance the carbon content, and
- cooling and collecting the carbon-containing material thus treated,
- wherein the heating step is performed sequentially at three or more different temperature phases each for a duration of time such that the weight percentage of the carbon in the treated carbon-containing material is increased by 20% or higher, as compared to the untreated carbon-containing material.
A system for enhancing the carbon content of a carbon-containing material, the system comprising:
- a chamber containing a heating device, a material inlet, a material outlet, a gas inlet, and a gas outlet, wherein the heating device is adoptable for heating sequentially the chamber at three or more different temperature phases each for a duration of time;
- a material feeder connected to the material inlet for receiving a carbon-containing material to be conveyed to the chamber via the material inlet;
- a cooling device for cooling the carbon-containing material conveyed from the chamber via the material outlet to a material storage tank for receiving the carbon-containing material;
- a vacuum pump for removing air from the chamber, wherein the vacuum pump is connected to the gas inlet;
- a gas tank for providing an inert gas, wherein the gas tank is also connected to the gas inlet;
- a heat exchanger for separating a liquid from the inert gas, wherein the heat exchanger is disposed between the gas outlet and a liquid storage tank for receiving the liquid;
- and
- a pressure gauge for measuring pressure in the chamber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.